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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Kitchen Improvements

Rob and I have spent the past few weeks working on a drop leaf kitchen counter for our very tiny kitchen. I got the idea when I saw this type of table at IKEA a year or so ago. Our first plan was just to buy that one. But they weren't exactly the right size and the stores near us kept saying none in stock. After an internet search for another counter or table of this sort, I kept getting routed back to IKEA, so we decided to build our own. The first plan was to use butcher block.But that plan was quickly derailed when I found the price of butcher block. Instead we bought a large sheet of Maple (I think) from Home Depot. They cut the first piece for us in the store. 29 inches long. When we got home, the planning began. Rob spent a couple of days measuring and sawing. The pieces were then stained at Industrial Craft Night, and Polyurethane was applied just before we left town for the weekend.

Upon our return the counter was ready for assembly.

The space before:

Assembly:More assembly and drilling:After the pieces were put together and the holes drilled into the wall we did a test. Unfortunatley the shelf support that we added was not strong enough to support the table! Tob had the idea to take apart an old tripod and use the extendable legs to support the outside of the counter. This began another phase of planning and building that was prolonged when the drill broke and we had to wait for the new piece to come in.

New legs:

The finished product:

Now I have so much more counter space for food prep and baking in a convenient space saving size. Now on to the next project!